PC magazine recently came out with an article about the 10 most popular passwords used on the internet. I looked at the list and could only think one thing:

WHAT WERE THESE PEOPLE THINKING?!??!!??

These aren’t only the 10 most popular passwords…they have to be the Top 10 BAD password ideas…and some pondering on how they happen can be fairly funny. Here we go:

Password

Come on…really? This s the best most people can do?

“What’s your password?”

“Uh…password.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about, your password. What is it?”

I said password.”

That reminds me of “Who’s on first?” (if you’ve never seen this classic Abbott and Costello routine, take a break and click the link. We’ll wait…)

123456

If you use this as your password, your memory is worse than mine, and that’s bad, really bad.

Or…it might be that you are as lazy as me…and that’s bad, really bad.

qwerty

I think this password is just like 123456, except showing a personal preference for letters instead of numbers…but still showing either a bad memory, laziness…or, like me, both.

abc123

This password shows that the KISS method (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is usually a good policy, but not always. At some point computer programmers started requiring at least 6 characters in a password, and, to prevent the “123456” or “qwerty” passwords talked above, they required at least one number and one letter in a password. This is the bad memory and/or lazy response to that rule. It meets the KISS requirement, but isn’t very secure.

Letmein

OK…I’ve got to admit to a brain fart when I first saw this one. My logic (note I said MY logic, not real logic) told me that there were a LOT of Chinese folks using computers, and this was a take off on popular Chinese food…Chow Mein, Lo Mein, Let Mein…

Quit laughing! You have brain farts too!!!

…but finally it got through…LET ME IN. OK…I got it, but it is still a really bad choice for computer security.

Monkey

I give up trying to explain this one. If monkey, then why not horse, cow, elephant, and bird as well? I even Googled “password monkey” and didn’t find a reason…just a bunch of articles that say it makes the top 10 every time. I suppose it WOULD be a good password…if it weren’t already so popular.

myspace1

Does MySpace even still exist…and if so, why? I could understand this password’s popularity among pre-pubescent teens 10 years ago…but STILL? Ah well…I suppose pre-pubescent teens DO become young adults, and old habits are hard to break…

password1

I’m surprised this is so far down the list. I would expect it to be number 2, not 9. It just takes the first place winner and adds a digit to satisfy programs that require it…which is most programs these days. If I tried to hack someone’s account, this would probably be the first one I’d try.

blink182

blink left me blank…until I Googled “blink123”. Now I know it’s a punk rock band, and apparently a pretty popular one…but popular enough to make the top 10 most used passwords? Apparently so…and there is no accounting for musical tastes…LOL.

(your first name)

I can see this one as a user name…I use a variation of it myself…BubbaBob…occasionally, but a PASSWORD? Don’t people realize a password is supposed to be a SECRET…or is this filed under “hiding in plain sight”?

If you use any of these, just turn your computer off and walk away. WALK…SLOWLY…AWAY.

Of course, many programs now assign you a password…some combination of letters, digits, and characters like 89wo8JMKWX*[email protected]!()()*(#$LKDMMDI*W. I even have one of those passwords, or “secret keys” as they are being called lately, that is over 100 characters long…really easy to remember, right?

I’ve come up with a system for remembering all the different passwords I have. I have a Word document called “passwords” that lists all of them and what programs or websites they are for. If you decide to do this, remember to keep the document safe from prying eyes by password protecting it.

Pass this on:

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Bob is a N Georgia blogger, homesteader, yurt liver, self-sufficiency nutjob, pig farmer, political activist, politician baiter...and the best damn cook you know that doesn't make a living at it.He can be followed onTwitter. You can also "Like" our Facebook page.